I recently received a text from a friend. I read the text over and over. Though the wording was “hopeful”, it was devoid of Hope. It left me with the same feeling that I felt when I would hear the character Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh say, “Thanks for noticing me.” He would say it in a depressed sort of a voice. He lived in this tumbled-down shed, apart from all the other characters from The Hundred Acre Woods. Any acknowledgement from the other characters were received like a morsel of dry, crusty bread, and though he thanked them for the acknowledgement, he remained as he was; a “semi-forgotten toy”.

As I walked to the bathroom, I heard a still small voice say, “Hopeful is not necessarily Hope.

This lead to, you guessed it, The New Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language:

HOPE: 1) The feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out well. 2) A particular instance of this feeling. 3) Grounds for this feeling in a particular instance. 4) A person or thing in which expectations are centered 5) something that is hoped for. 6) To look forward with desire and reasonable confidence. 7) TO BELIEVE, DESIRE OR TRUST. 8) to feel that something desired may happen. 9) To continue to hope when the situation appears bleak.

HOPEFUL: 1) Full of hope; expressing hope. 2) Exciting hope promising advantage or success. 3) A person who shows promise or aspires to success.

Hebrews 11: 1-3 (NIV): Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Note: It is important to read all of Hebrews 11 before continuing.

The following are scriptures about HOPE. I encourage you to read the entire chapters to keep everything in context. The verses are as follow from NIV unless otherwise stated:

1) Psalm 42:5: “Why my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me; put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and God”. Psalm 42;43.

2) Psalm 62: 5,6: “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him. truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken”. Psalm 62.

3) Psalm 130: 7: “Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing Love and with Him is full redemption”. Psalm 130.

4) Isaiah 40:31: “… but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint”. Isaiah 40.

The problem with the word, HOPEFUL is NOT the definition. The problem is what we as modern-day-Christians have turned it into. When we say we are hopeful, we are literally saying we are “hoping against hope” because we have combined “hopeful” with “doubtful”. Let’s look at the definition for doubtful.

DOUBTFUL: 1) Of uncertain outcome. 2) Uncertain. 3) Unsettled in opinion or belief; undecided; hesitant. 4) of dubious character or value: doubtful tactics. 5) Unlikely; not probable.

We are really saying that we hope God doesn’t screw up, let us down (disappoint us), refuse to answer our prayers, come in the twelfth hour instead of the eleventh hour (which most Christians believe is bad enough).

UNDERSTAND that combining “hopeful” and “doubtful” together is the same as nullifying/canceling your faith in God, in whatever circumstance you are in or faced with.

REMEMBER what Jesus said to the woman with the Issue of blood. “Take heart, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. Matthew9:10-22. “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in Peace and be freed from your suffering.” Mark 5:21-34. “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in Peace.” Luke 8:43-48.

Again I encourage you to reread all of Hebrews 11 and 12. Pay close attention to verses 11:1-3 and verses 35-40.

“See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven? At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. The words, “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken – that is, created things -so what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:25-29.